Jeff Burgess seeks signature win at Wiscasset Speedway

Jeff Burgess is currently mired in the longest winless drought of his entire career, and this weekend’s Boss Hogg 150 at Wiscasset Speedway would be the perfect time and place to end the dry spell.

“It would be a nice way to cap my career, not that my career is ending, but I’ve been racing a long time,” Burgess, 46, said. “I’ve never won a 100 or a 150-lapper at Wiscasset. I’ve been all over the place with seconds, thirds and fourths, but it would be nice to finally win one.”

Jeff Burgess of East Madison gets buckled into his car prior to the start of the Coastal 200 in May at Wiscasset Speedway. The two-time Unity Raceway champion is seeking a signature win at Wiscasset in the Boss Hogg 150 on Sunday. Staff photo by Travis Barrett

This is the first edition of the “Boss Hogg” as a standalone 150-lap event for the track’s Pro Stock division, with qualifying beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Previously, the race — which started in 1991 — was held at a distance of 100 laps on a Saturday night during the season as part of the regular weekly racing program.

The race, which will pay $5,000 to the winner, plus lap-leader bonuses, is named for Dave “Boss Hogg” St. Clair, the longtime owner of Wiscasset Speedway. St. Clair, of Liberty, bought the facility in 1991 and held ownership of the track until selling it to Doug White in 2007. The track is now owned by Richard and Vanessa Jordan.

Burgess, of East Madison, hasn’t won in nearly two years, since the 2015 season at Unity Raceway — where he is a two-time track champion. Though last year he only ran four races in total, with two of those in a Late Model, he has returned to full-time competition this season in the Pro Stock division in the No. 34 his father made famous at Wiscasset, Unity and Speedway 95. And though his focus has been on short, 40-lap weekly dash races, Burgess has proven he knows how to win at long distances, too.

A three-time winner of the autumn Long John at Unity, Burgess was caught in a wreck on lap 7 of the Boss Hogg 100 last summer. He has never won an extra-distance race at Wiscasset, though he finished second in the Coastal 200 in 2016 in a Late Model.

“We’re programmed to get things done in 40 laps,” Burgess said of the weekly racer’s mindset. “You can’t spend 10 laps on a Saturday night trying to pass someone, but I’ll spend 20 trying to pass someone in a 150. You can just relax and take your time. If your car isn’t good, you have a chance to try and make it better.”

Unfortunately for the Pro Stock division at Wiscasset this season, even though August is only a few days away, it feels like the season has yet to get really started. There have been three rainouts this season on an every-other-week schedule, resulting in just five points races thus far in 2017.

Two of those came in a single night two weeks ago, when a previously rained-out feature was run on the same night as the regularly scheduled one.

Five-time track champion Scott Chubbuck of Bowdoin and Daren Ripley of Thomaston won those two races, not surprising in what has been a two-horse race thus far for the Pro Stocks at the track. Both drivers have two wins this season, but even they’re not sure of what they’ve got for 150 laps on Sunday.

“The car’s been sporadic,” Chubbuck said after a crash sidelined him early in the second half of the doubleheader night on July 15. “We haven’t raced enough.”

Veteran Charlie Colby of Newcastle, while winless, leads the point standings entering the weekend. Colby has four top-fives in five races, including three third-place finishes.

The lack of consistent track time throws another obstacle at teams on Sunday.

“This is the crazy time of year at the track,” said Burgess, who finished fourth in his most recent start, his best finish since running second in the season opener. “When you start out the year (the weather) is cool, and then it gets really hot in the summer before cooling back down again in a couple of weeks. Summertime racing is way different than spring or fall racing. We’ve been working on a new setup. The car is finally doing what I want it to do in the front, now I just have to get the rear to catch up.”

Burgess sits fourth in the standings, just 32 points out of the lead. Chasing that elusive first Wiscasset championship remains secondary, at least this week, to securing a signature win for himself at the speedway.

“I know how to get to the end of these races,” Burgess said. “I just need for things not to happen to the car, like a blown motor or a cut tire or something like that. By lap 100, you just need to put yourself in position to be there on lap 150.”

Here at MaineToday Media we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion.

To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use. Click here to flag and report a comment that violates our terms of use.